All In
by jaykw2614
Summary: Set during the season three premiere, Schmidt goes to Cece's place to tell her who he chooses, but after a long overdue talk, his decision changes. A quick one-shot of how that conversation should have gone.


**So I am a huge fan of New Girl ever since they added it to Netflix, and now I'm completely obsessed. And in case you can't gather from this story, I am a 'Schmece lover & I just want them to have another shot at a real relationship that lasts longer than two episodes. N/E way...Let me know what you think.**

* * *

><p>Schmidt had never been so nervous. He wished this was one of those situations where he could send a text or an email and the deed would be done, but he knew a face to face conversation was the only way to go. He arrived at Cece's door but waited before he knocked, still reeling from the events that took place the night before as he paced back and forth.<p>

_'…what I really want is to be with someone else…'_

_'…It was Schmidt that you were talking about, wasn't it?...'_

_'…You have to decide…'_

"Okay Schmidt, you can do this." He said to himself. "You can do this. You were with Elizabeth first."

He took a few deep breaths and knocked on the door. Seconds later when it opened, Schmidt found that the incredibly difficult task he had come to carry out had become an impossible one. She was gorgeous as always. He tried to keep a straight face to let her know that he was there for a serious reason, but he couldn't help it. Looking into her beautiful brown eyes and seeing the excitement she felt by his mere presence, he had to smile.

"Hey Schmidt." She said with an innocent voice, but to him was the audible equivalence to warm tea running down his throat. Which only seemed fitting given her skin tone.

"Hey, Cece. I was hoping we could talk about last night." He said as he tried to get his face back to his original setting.

"Yeah," she said moving aside to let him through, "Come in." They both made their way to the couch. Schmidt's thoughts suddenly flooded with all the memories of the 'intimate moments' they shared on that couch. Thinking back on it, some of the things they used that couch for should be illegal in certain states.

Cece sat down first, in the direct center of the couch. Schmidt was already at a severe disadvantage. And to make matters worse, she was sitting in the most casual yet seductive manner. That, paired with the black tank-top and leggings outfit she was wearing, Schmidt was one leg crossing away from having a panic attack.

"Look the first thing I wanted to do was apologize for yesterday. _Winston_ had no right to sabo' your wedding like that. The horse and the Cotton Eyed Joe bits were funny, but he took it too far with the badger. You know how weird he gets with pranks."

"Yeah," she said, unconvinced "Winston has been known to do some crazy things. I just can't figure out why he would try to sabotage my wedding. I mean, what was his reason."

"Who knows why Winston does anything he does? Why did he waste a year of his life playing basketball in Latvia? You know, he's at home right now doing a puzzle…that has disaster written all over it." Cece couldn't help but smile at how insistent he was being at blaming his weirdo roommate. She missed how they used to talk all casual, and how he would make her laugh.

"So what else did you want to talk about?" she asked nervously. She had figured that he had come to deliver his decision of the ultimate Sophie's Choice dilemma she had put him in less than twenty four hours ago. Schmidt went back to his serious face.

"It's about the ultimatum you gave me. I was up all night thinking about you and about Elizabeth. Look you know I have always wanted to be with you. And I regret the way things ended with us more than anything. But…"

"… But… You chose, Elizabeth." Cece tried her best to hide her devastation. If it was anyone else it would have been so easy. But it wasn't anyone else, it was him. It was always him. She didn't know when it became impossible to hide her emotions from Schmidt, but she figured that after being intimate with one person in many more ways than the obvious one, there are things you can't cloak. Cece averted her gaze downward. She knew that if she allowed him to look her in the eyes, she would fall apart, and holding back tears was already challenging at the moment. "It makes sense that you'd want to be with her. I get it. It's fine Schmidt."

Schmidt felt like the biggest douchebag in the world. He made a mental note to make a substantial deposit to the jar when he got back to the loft. Cece got up off the couch and turned to head toward her bedroom.

"Um…I'm really tired, so I'm going to go take a nap. You can let yourself out."

"Cece, wait!" Schmidt nearly yelled as he jumped up off the couch to stop her.

"Look Schmidt, I've been up for twenty-four hours & I still have to return all these gifts, so can we just…not?" she said, turning around. "I told you, its fine. You don't have to say anything else."

Seeing the hurt on her face, Schmidt was near tears himself. "Well can't we talk about this?" he asked.

"I really don't want to."

"Cece…please."

"What is there to talk about? You just told me that you want to be with another girl." It was at this point that her emotions began to truly betray her, as she felt a small tear fall down the side of her face.

"It's not like I don't want to be with you too though."

"Well, that's a problem. Because you can only be with one of us."

"I know. But you have to understand that this is a really difficult decision."

Cece took a deep breath. She tried to make it seem as if she were calming herself down, but in reality, she was fighting every piece of herself to keep her emotional wall intact. With every word that came out of his mouth, a piece of it cracked like water breaking through a dam. She folded her arms. Silently letting him know that he had permission to say what he had to.

"Look," he took a deep breath and averted his gaze to collect his thoughts, "this was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I never had to choose between two women before. I'm in love with both of you. But I'm just trying to do the right thing here."

"Don't do that. Don't make this decision based on how it'll affect anyone but you. Figure out what _you_ want…_Who_ you want."

"It's not that simple"

"Yes it is Schmidt! Who do you want?!"

"You!... I want you!" Schmidt felt like a 50lb weight was just released from his chest. He has wanted to tell her that for so long that it was nearly starting to eat away at him.

"So then what is the issue?"

"Cece I told you a long time ago how I felt. I laid it all out there for you, and what did you do? ... You call your mother to have her set you up. Next thing I know you're getting married and as hard as it was for me, eventually I accepted it. So I did my best to move on and I found my way back to Elizabeth. And now…here we are. And I don't know what to do."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I was scared Schmidt." Cece started walking closer to him. "I know the timing of all this is crazy, but I'm telling you now that I want to be with you." With slight hesitation, she reached out to grab his hands, which were down at his sides, and held them in hers. "Only you."

"Cece I do want to be with you. More than anything I want to be with you. But I'm scared too. I'm scared that one day you'll wake up and realize that you can do so much better than me, because you can. I'm scared that the next time I do or say something stupid, which…let's face it…I will, you'll call your mom again and I'll have to watch you walk down the aisle to another guy. And, you know, I never realized until recently, that five months ago, when I told you that I loved you…You never did say it back."

Schmidt gently released her hands and watched as she held them where they were. It had dawned on her that he was right. She never did say it back. Her mind flashed back to the only time she ever used those words with him. On her first date with a man that she should have been married to by now, and even so, the only reason she said it was to help him sleep with another woman.

"I'm sorry, but, I don't think I can be with someone who doesn't feel the same way I do." Schmidt said as he started to back away from her. "Goodbye Cece."

As he made his way to her front door, Cece just stood there with that same look on her face. She couldn't lose him, not again. This time, she figured, if she was going to, it wouldn't be for lack of trying. For the first time in her entire life Cece was going to come clean about how she felt. As much as she prided herself for being strong and guarded, she was not about to get in her own way and let this man walk out of her life for good.

Schmidt was at the door, his hand reaching for the knob. He was taken aback when he heard her finally speak.

"Schmidt..."

He stopped where he was and turned toward her. That's when she dropped her hands and spun to face him. They looked into each other's eyes and felt as that connection came flooding back, welcoming it after all this time.

"I do…I love you." A look of shock took hold on Schmidt's face. He knew that she had deep down felt something for him, but to hear her say it changed everything.

"What?" he said, as if he heard her wrong. Taking a step in her direction, he took his hand off of the doorknob.

Cece, keeping her eyes locked on his, walked straight towards him. Before he knew what was happening, he was doing the same. They couldn't help it, they were two magnets drawn to each other. Within seconds, she was jumping into his arms, wrapping hers around him, and holding on for dear life. She placed her forehead on his, their noses touching.

"I love you Schmidt." She kissed him, "I love you so much."

When their lips parted, Schmidt couldn't help but smile.

"I thought so." He said. And with that, his choice had been made. While he did love Elizabeth, he was _in love_ with Cece. He always had been. Now, three years later, she was finally his. And he'll be damned if he screwed this up again.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked it. This is my first time posting a story to this site so I thought I'd write what I know and Love. So please review. Let me know if you liked it or if there are any suggestions &amp; be on the lookout for other stories...Thanks for reading!<strong>


End file.
